


Eddie!,It's time we talk about our feelings

by Postsynthcomrade5



Category: Bottom (UK)
Genre: Apologies, Arguing, British Comedy, British Slang, Canon Universe, Confessions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Men Crying, Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, Television Watching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:02:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28074408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Postsynthcomrade5/pseuds/Postsynthcomrade5
Summary: Richie suggests having a chat about something Eddie isn't prepared for when the tv has nothing good on.....feelings, all that soppy stuff, Richie is the emotional one, Eddie usually is not, that is until this chat makes them have some realizations and reconciliation?
Relationships: Edward "Eddie" Elizabeth Hitler/Richard "Richie" Richard
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. There's nothing on tv

In the Hammersmith flat, it was quieter than usual, there were no fights, no yelling, Richie and Eddie were just sitting on the sofa together.

Nothing good was on

Eddie flicked the remote multiple times 

“oh come on, there must be something saucy on one of these channels”

Eddie kept flicking the channels 

“Young man I think that’s enough, if you keep switching from channel to channel, you’ll break the television set and I’m not paying for that”

Eddie turned over at him as he switched it off “what, it’s not like you don’t watch television as well while you're making those science experiments you call meals”

Richie rolled his eyes, “No, it’s because we’d both have the pay the damages as we share the tv and if it did get smashed we wouldn’t be able to pay for it”

After going off to the kitchen to get some tea, there was more quietness, Richie looked down at his teacup as he stirred it around with his spoon, “you know Eddie, we don’t usually get quiet moments like this, this could give us a chance to talk about our feelings more you know, instead of repressing it through mindless reckless behaviour”

Eddie gave him an unhappy look before he raised his gravelly voice slightly, “it’s not a quiet moment, because your never quiet and the mindless, reckless behaviour is fun, booze, pub quizzes, getting girls, it’s all a good laugh”

Richie was unhappy with how Eddie was acting, he whined, “I am in fact the quietest that I have been and when the reckless behaviour is excessive, it’s unhealthy for you, that pub quiz wasn’t even successful we got involved with skull crusher, because of your fake money idea, How do you think I feel?, do you think I like looking back on every unsuccessful flirting attempt, every social cue I didn’t understand, every day that ended up going badly when I wanted it to be good, honestly today we are going to be settling our issues like men”

Eddie kept jabbering, “Are you asking for a fight then?”

Richie held his hand out in a form of surrender, “No, No fights this time, we are just going to talk”

Eddie said, “Talk?, about what, about how you can never get with women, about how great Napoleon was at Tamagotchi, how Nigella Lawson’s dress was absolutely ravishing this morning?”

Richie straightened his tie and pouted, “no, no, not about any of that….we are going to talk about our feelings and our emotions and our issues, we are going to try and get some closure”

Eddie sipped some tea as he mumbled to himself “oh no, he’s going to go on about some philosophical soppy bollocks isn’t he?”

Richie clapped his hands together, “now I would like you to tell me, what your issues are with me, now try to not word them in an insulting way please, as I just want to know why I bother you so much and what I can do to be less annoying”

Eddie mumbled to himself, “why do I bloody start, my number of issues with rich would be as big as my Christmas list, and of course he’s making this about himself, sooner or later he’s going to be having some ramble about who knows what”

Eddie stared at Richie, who didn’t say a word as he continued to wait for Eddie’s response 

Eddie mumbled again, “wow, he’s serious, I guess I’ll give an answer”

“Well...you do tend to be very self-absorbed a lot of the time, why is that, why you seek attention so much Richie, why do you always humiliate yourself when socialising with ladies or with my friends, why are you so overly emotional and girly, why are you so sad and perverted, why are you so bad at cooking, why do you go off about history you barely know the accurate facts about, why did you make me do that liposuction thing that one time, why did you cause a drama about Miss World, why did you cause such a tantrum about being a shopkeeper?”


	2. Richie's apologising?

Richie was taken aback by how the question was worded but tried to give an explanation anyway 

“Oh….Well you see Eddie, I’m just a very lonely person when your not around and even I am with other people I just have no idea how to talk to them, I don’t know their social cues, I don’t know what their interests are, I would talk about other topics If I knew what topics to talk about, but I’m just simply not as informed about other topics, this also carries into my dating skills, I’ve learned through my magazines I’m not the casanova I wish to be as I’m just too awkward sometimes, I do want to truly fall in love someday but it would have to be someone I’m socially compatible with, I didn’t intend to be rude to the lesbians we met that one time, I just didn’t know until they told me, I didn’t understand boundaries and my views on people who aren’t straight were very outdated, I was raised conservative and that’s how I was told to view gay people, but I see now that they are just people like everybody else”

“I guess when I’m around people like Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog, my inability to communicate can get me frustrated and it can make me appear very stuck up, that and again my outdated conservative values, this isn’t the 90s anymore, times are changing and so are we”

“My bad cooking probably stems from my mother’s notoriously bad sandwiches, but I am learning, I am trying to be better, if you have any tips or cookbooks you recommend, I am eager to give them a go, I know you joke that I’m trying to poison you but I’m not as I just need to develop my skills more and I’d rather we have food on the table than nothing at all even if it’s not food that tastes good.

“The liposuction thing was a mistake to look hunky which just caused damage to my balls, beauty standards were so ridiculous back then, did you know most magazine cover art is done by computers now, they give us unrealistic expectations, no wonder half of the ladies we could list in our preferences were just supermodels we’d have no chance with”

“And I was not causing a “drama” about miss world young man, it was you that started it all just because you didn’t want to eat the meal I prepared for you, you could’ve just said if we could watch it without making the lie about the bet and then I wouldn’t have crashed into the dustbin, although that was also your fault as you left the window open, see! not everything I do is my fault sometimes you need to acknowledge your mistakes too”

“The shopkeeper thing was I guess my competitive streak and the fact we’ve both been jobless for such a long time that to have a job even if it was temporary just felt very good, sometimes when I have power, I misuse it, because I’m not used to it but I would rather have a job I enjoy instead of working at an office all day for some git who earns more money than me”

“My pervertedness is probably my deviancy and sometimes I can take my sex-positivity way too far, but now I know there are a time and a place for it”

“I seek genuine love and attention, sometimes I come across as a mean person because of my ignorance and competitiveness, but I am trying to do better, just by simply having this conversation, we’re getting our words out constructively instead of punching each other’s faces in”

“Talking about your emotions is not girly, it’s important to acknowledge issues instead of ignoring them when you ignore issues, they just continue to consume you, we shouldn’t repress our feelings and hide under shells, we were brought up in a generation that didn’t care about feelings, no wonder we acted the way we did, if you don’t listen, people get hurt and sometimes the person getting hurt is you, also some people are just generally more sensitive to some things and I’m one of those people, there’s nothing wrong with being a man who doesn’t look like a bodybuilder, in fact, I admire how agile and athletic you are compared to me.

After trying to process everything Richie said, Eddie quietly said, “you mean all of this?”

Richie nodded, “I mean every word,this is me being honest”


	3. Eddie, are you crying?

There was more silence,Eddie thought for a second about the lecture that Richie had given about his past actions and also the importance of the one soppy subject he avoided talking about….feelings

He self reflected himself on his actions,the miss world drama,the wolverhampton visit, he felt humiliated, he started to realize that maybe richie didn’t enjoy it when his past mistakes would be brought into the conversation,Eddie wasn’t used to addressing his own elephant in the room so he did something that he rarely did….he sobbed.

Eddie looked down as the waterworks started,he winced and sniffled as he tried to not let his glasses get smudged,he felt bad,he felt bad about how he treated Richie occasionally,he felt bad about how many times he repressed issues instead of addressing them,this was a new realization for him,he’d have a go at richie for being smug and competitive but on some days he was no different,he felt bad for not understanding richie’s perspective,he felt bad about the one thing he was constantly reminded of when walking into the dreaded dole office, he was jobless and didn’t have much money,he knew at times he was a bit too self destructive,he was lucky to have Richie,if Richie wasn’t there to tend to his wounds or calm him down after a bad day,he’d probably be dead or in jail”

Eddie continued to cry,he rarely cried but there he was,with tears running down his face like a waterfall,he knew he had issues,metaphorically he could get help,but he didn’t know how,he hadn’t even told spudgun and dave hedgehog about his self destruction habit,then again it’s not like the government was giving them many options that didn’t involve waiting lists or prices he couldn’t afford 

Eddie whimpered and wailed,he wasn’t used to this soppy bollocks,but he’d rather do that and add to the repeating cycle of hiding issues under the rug instead of addressing them.

Richie looked concerned as he heard his flatmates raspy bawling, he frowned and turned his eyebrows as he was shocked to see Eddie of all people on earth,having a sob.

Richie shuffled closer to Eddie on the sofa as he wrapped his arm over Eddie’s shoulder, rubbing calming circles on his back smoothly as he reassured him in a soft toned voice “Eddie!..it’s ok, it’s ok to vent sometimes,

Eddie kept bawling, he held Richie into a hug as he tried to explain what he was self reflecting about

Richie kept softly rubbing the back of the flatmate until he calmed down,he tried to use his words in a constructively way this time, “There There, it’s alright,we can get out of this,you’ve got me to talk to,I’ll be here to listen,I stopped relying on the conservative party ages ago after I realized they’ve done bugger all to help working class people like us,we’ll get you help,we’ll get whatever treatment it takes and maybe if we look around enough,we might even get jobs and we can go on more holidays,stuff our faces and maybe work on our flirting skills along the way”

Eddie stopped whimpering, “t-that, that would be nice actually”, “you know, your a good friend Richie”, he dried his tears, “I’m sorry for not understanding how you felt sometimes and I’m sorry for being too self destructive,we’ve all got our issues,but we won’t let them define us,”

Richie quickly handed him a tissue, as Eddie blowed his nose,he leaned his shoulder over to Richie,

“Best mates?”

Richie then gently held his hand, “Best mates”

They then just snuggled for the rest of the day,eventually ordering a chinese takeaway and turning the tv back on to watch a film together.


End file.
